Fear's Place
by Shadougelover14
Summary: Everyone deserves to be believed in; the Boogeyman is no exception. A series of mostly humorous one-shots centered around Jack and Pitch's relationship (NO SLASH)
1. Fear and Fun's Night Out

Jack looked around carefully as he made his way through Pitch's lair. So far he hadn't seen the Nightmare King, but there had been a couple nightmares watching him earlier, before they'd disappeared. Jack presumed they'd tell Pitch about the uninvited guest in his lair.

'_This could possibly be the best or worst idea I've ever had...' _He thought as he eyed the numerous shadows in the underground caverns.

"Frost."

He jumped, before whipping around to face his quarry. Pitch Black stood a few feet away, watching him with an unreadable expression.

"Oh, there you are. How's it going?" Jack asked, resting his staff across his shoulders.

Pitch continued watching him, and Jack glanced around the lair as the awkward silence continued. Finally, after a few more seconds, Pitch spoke up.

"What do you want, Frost?"

"I've got an awesome idea!"

"No."

"Aw come on, you haven't even heard it yet."

"I don't need to, my answer is still no."

"But it'll be fun!"

"As I've said before, I don't do FUN."

"But what about last month; we had fun scaring everyone with that computer game, right?"

"Oh, yes," Pitch gave a brittle grin that was more bared teeth than anything, "And that bout of _fun_ nearly cost me another tooth."

Jack could see the slightly bent canine even from where he stood.

"Look, I said sorry, alright. I didn't know Tooth would react like that, she's not usually prone to violence."

"Yes well, whatever it is you wish to do now you can accomplish without me. Now get out of my lair."

Pitch turned to walk away, but Jack flew in front of him.

"Come on Pitch, just hear me out-"

"_**WHY**_ do you keep trying to rope me into your insipid antics?!" Pitch hissed, towering over the young Guardian.

Jack shrunk a little under his hard glare, swallowing, but he held his ground.

"Because you and I both know what it's like to be alone."

Pitch drew back in surprise, fixing Jack with stunned eyes. The winter sprite met his gaze with determination set in his blue eyes. After a moment, Pitch shook his a little and stammered,

"A-and…what does THAT have to do with any of this?"

"No one deserves to be alone for the rest of their life, not even you; and I'm pretty much the _only_ one who understands that."

Pitch didn't respond, but Jack swore he saw a brief glimpse of hurt flash through his golden eyes.

"Look Pitch…I know what it's like to be alone, with no contact whatsoever; 300 years, remember? I know that's not much too however long _you_ had to deal with it, but I can relate. Honestly, I really think there's something you could do to _help_ the world, you just gotta figure out what it is."

Pitch was silent for a long while, and Jack cautiously approached him. The Nightmare King looked down at him, his face unreadable again, but Jack had the sneaking suspicion Pitch was reading him like an open book. After a few minutes, Pitch gave a small sigh.

"What were you plotting again?"

Jack gave a small smile, before turning towards the entrance.

"C'mon, I'll show ya!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::

"A _movie_? This is your big plan of excitement?" Pitch asked skeptically.

He and Jack were outside a theater, which was quickly filling up with teens and adults, all of them walking through the two immortals.

"I know what I'm doing, alright? Just look at what's playing tonight." Jack stated.

Pitch glanced up at the announcement board, eyes skimming over the titles, before looking back down at Jack.

"What about them?"

"Did anything catch your eye? Anything that sounded remotely creepy?"

"No."

"Pitch, come on…okay, did you see the Evil Dead one?"

"Yes."

"Everyone's been saying that it's super scary!"

"Your point is?"

"Everyone coming out of it is always freaked out, which makes it really easy to scare them."

"So we're back to allowing me to scare people?"

"But here's the thing; this kind of scaring can be fun! Just make it really dark, I can make it cold, you do your thing with the shadows, and BAM! Legal hilarity ensues!"

Pitch gave him a skeptic glare, but sighed.

"I guess it's better than being stuck in a hole for the night."

"That's the spirit; come on, let's go!"

::::::::::::::::::::

Half an hour later, the duo was in the back of the theater, seated on the edge of one of the balconies, their presence unknown to the people around them.

"Honestly, _this_ scares people?" Pitch asked with a bored look in his eyes.

"This is the dullest horror movie I've ever had the misfortune of sitting through."

"Y-Yeah, dull…" Jack mumbled.

Pitch glanced at him, and noted that the boy had his knees drawn up with his arms wrapped around them, and his staff was gripped tightly in hand. His wide blue eyes were fixed on the screen.

"You're not scared by this, are you?"

"N-no, don't be crazy, this is n-nothing…"

Pitch continued to look skeptical, but returned his attention to the movie. Several times he noticed Jack jumping, and once he thought he heard a yelp. After about twenty more minutes, the movie ended, and everyone started filing out of the theater.

"Alright, so let's see…how about those two over there?" Jack asked, pointing out a couple walking towards their car.

Pitch studied them for a moment, before nodding.

"Great so…what do we do?"

"_You_ stay here; you don't know the first thing about proper scaring tactics."

"Um, do you know how many windows I've frosted and drawn on? I've been freaking people since I learned how to use my powers."

"And yet I've never heard any horror stories about you or anything ice related."

"You just do your thing, and I'll do mine."

Pitch rolled his eyes, but nodded and vanished into the shadows. He quickly and quietly snuck up on the couple, drinking in the fear coming off of them in waves like it was sweet wine. How long had it been since he'd allowed himself to leave the safety of his lair and indulge in terrifying humans? Much too long in his mind.

With the simple snap of his fingers, every streetlight within ten feet of the couple flickered out. The woman squeaked, and tightened her grip on the man's arm.

"R-relax honey, it's just some bad light bulbs…look, there's our car." the man stammered.

The duo raced over to the vehicle, but before the woman opened her door, she yelped. Written in frost on the windows of the car were these words: _We're coming to get you_.

This elicited a rather high pitched scream from the man, and both he and the woman took off down the street. Jack was sitting on top of the car, smirking as he met Pitch's gaze.

"Who doesn't know how to scare people?" he asked.

Pitch rolled his eyes again, but had to admit Jack might have _some_ talent at startling people.

The evening passed with the twosome repeating this process, with changes of course. Sometimes they'd scare people separately, sometimes they'd work together; either way, it was great fun for both of them. Jack would dare say Pitch seemed _happy_. It was hard to tell, as he'd never seen the Boogeyman truly happy about anything other than being close to dominating the world, and that was a year ago.

However, Jack was so focused on the scaring and observing Pitch, that he didn't notice anything other than that. He didn't notice the golden sand streaming above them in the sky, and he didn't notice the small golden man descending in his direction before abruptly coming to a stop. It was only when Pitch suddenly froze and stared at something behind Jack with wide eyes that the winter sprite turned around.

Sandy was staring at the two of them with wide golden brown eyes filled with confusion. The three immortals were silent for a few minutes, before Jack mumbled,

"I'm in _soooo_ much trouble…"

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_This story is going to be mostly a bunch of one-shots, all centered mostly centered around Jack and Pitch; hope you enjoy these stories!_


	2. Second Chances, We All Deserve 'Em

Jack was huddled on the branch of a tree overlooking his lake. He hadn't seen any of the Guardians lately, but then again, he hadn't gone looking for them. The last one he'd seen was Sandy a few days ago on the night the little man had come across him and Pitch freaking people out in the movie theater's parking lot, and having quite a good time with it.

The Sandman hadn't 'said' anything, he merely looked back and forth between the two. After a few seconds, Jack fled the scene, not looking back once. Ever since then, he'd avoided any contact with the Guardians.

'_They're gonna be so mad…what if they kick me out? What if they never wanna see me again? What if-?'_

"Are you planning to sulk around Burgess all week?"

Jack glanced down, and spotted Pitch leaning against the trunk.

"I'm not sulking…"

"Of course you aren't, and the chilling winds and flurries that have been going on have had nothing to do with your emotional turmoil."

Jack sighed, and slid off the branch, floating down until he reached the ground.

"You're afraid of what the Guardians will think of you."

Jack leaned against the trunk as well, staying silent. He couldn't deny it, Pitch knew fear like the back of his hand.

"You know, if they do decide to kick you out, I'm positive we can think of something we can do to get back at them."

Jack gave him a skeptical gaze, and Pitch shrugged.

"Or not; frankly, if they're foolish enough to do so, I'll find a bit insulting that you chose to give your loyalty to them over me."

Jack snorted, and gave a small smile, probably the first one in days.

"I never thought of you as the comforting type." He stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not comforting you, just stating facts. The Guardians were always fools, so it wouldn't surprise me if they did abandon you."

Jack rolled his eyes, before looking out at the expanse of frozen water.

"…Do you think…they're gonna kick me out?"

Pitch was silent for a few seconds, before shrugging.

"I can't really answer that. Perhaps if I make it look like I hypnotized you-"

"I don't think they'll buy that. Sandy saw me, remember?"

"Well then, if you're not going to agree with my ideas, don't ask."

"I didn't…oh never mind-"

"Frostbite."

The duo jumped at the new voice, and spun to see Bunny climbing out of a hole. The Pooka gave Pitch a withering look, before looking at Jack with a more concerned gaze.

"We need to talk, mate."

Jack let out a sigh, and headed towards him.

"Well, I knew this was coming…"

Bunny gave Pitch another suspicious glare, before jumping down the hole. Jack gave a two-fingered salute, and dropped down after the Pooka. Pitch smirked as he watched the tunnel close, before turning and vanishing into the shadows.

::::::::::::::::::::::::

"I've explained three times, North, how many more times do I have to retell the story?" Jack sighed, leaning back on the couch.

"I am just trying to understand, Jack. What made you think it would be good idea to team up with _Pitch_?"

"I wasn't teaming up with him, I was hanging out, there's a difference."

"Jack…"

"Look, I'm just trying to keep something like last year from happening again, okay?"

"How, by _helping_ him gain power?!" Bunny exclaimed.

"Doesn't he deserve to be believed in, too?"

"But Jack, don't you remember the last time he got too much power?" Tooth asked.

"Yes, I remember, do you think I'd forget? But he's not getting too much power, I'm keeping an eye on that."

"Why are you helping him, Jack?" North asked.

All the Guardians looked curious, and Jack felt a little self-conscious under their gaze, but he held his ground.

"Because I know what it's like not to have anyone for a long time; how close was _I_ to becoming that?"

"Oh, but Jack, you're so different than Pitch." Tooth stated, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Not by much; I was only alone for three hundred years, Pitch was alone centuries. Come on guys, you know what it's like to not to be believed in,"

The Guardians looked away for a moment, and Tooth gave a slight nod.

"And you only had to deal with it for a about a day or two. I'm just trying to keep that from happening again. You guys can trust me, alright?"

The group was silent for a moment, before North felt someone patting his leg. He looked down at Sandy, who was pointing towards the ceiling. Everyone looked up, and saw what had his attention. The moon was shining down through the hatch, illuminating the room.

"Ah, Manny, did not know you were coming." North greeted.

The light shifted, lighting up the floor, and everyone noticed a shadow forming on the floor into a familiar form.

"You are saying that Jack is right about Pitch?"

The shadow remained, and more appeared in the shapes of the Guardians themselves.

"We…should accept what he does?" Tooth asked.

The shadows melded together, and formed the letter G.

"We should…work together?"

"_That's_ pushin' it a little, mate." Bunny muttered, giving Manny an annoyed stare.

North nudged him, and he shrugged.

"What? He can't expect us to just forget last year like nothin' 'appened."

"I don't think he's expecting you to so soon," Jack stated, "But maybe you could work up to it?"

"Yeah, not happenin' mate."

"Okay, maybe not _forget _it, but…work past it?"

Bunny didn't look like he was agreeing with Jack, so Tooth stepped in.

"If…If Jack is willing to give him a chance to do some good, I'll trust him."

The others were silent for a moment, until Sandy, through his dreamsand, stated that he was agreeing with Tooth. North and Bunny shared a look, before North spoke up first.

"Very well, Jack, we will trust you, and Manny, of course. If you believe Pitch can provide something for children, then go do it."

"But we'll be keepin' an eye on the wanker!" Bunny added.

Jack could give him that, it was a start. He was surprised though, he didn't think he'd get back-up from the Man in the Moon, especially if it involved Pitch. He would definantly have to thank him for that later.

"Soo…what now?"

"Well…I guess you tell Pitch that…he's free to do his job." Tooth replied.

"But only to an extent! No trying to seize power or causing disbelief in any of us, alright?" Bunny added.

"Well I suppose that's fair."

Everyone jumped, and whirled around to see Pitch perched on the globe, watching them all with a guarded expression.

"Pitch, when did you get here?" Jack asked.

"Oh I've been here; I just wanted to see if I should start assembling my Nightmares in case certain people decided to come after me. But it looks like I won't have to worry about that," the Boogeyman replied, getting to his feet.

"Don't get cocky; try anything an' I'll shove one of my boomerangs down ya throat!" Bunny retorted.

Pitch smirked, before turning away.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure; now then, if you'll excuse me, I have nightmares to inflict."

He vanished into the nearby shadows, leaving the stunned Guardians behind.

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_Hope you're enjoying it so far!_


	3. Prank of Vengeance

Pitch couldn't recall a time when he'd felt such excitement. Well, he could, but this was the first time in a while where he didn't have to worry about someone taking it away. The Guardians had actually _agreed_ to not interfere with his job…much. He supposed he shouldn't pull too much on the short leash he'd been given, lest he hang himself.

But that didn't mean he wasn't going to enjoy his newfound freedom. Oh no, he was most definantly going to make use of it. He'd been relishing the new rushes of fear, as had his beloved Nightmares. So far, none of the Guardians had gotten in his way, other than Sandy giving him a stink eye when they'd come across each other in the same child's room one night. Out of professional courtesy, Pitch had decided to let the Sandman have the child.

Now though, he was relaxing in the shadowy confines of his lair, observing the globe of glowing lights indicating his own believers. He had to admit he was impressed that there were so many; he didn't think so many people actually believed in his existence. He'd always been brushed off as a bad dream by so many people, including the Guardians-

"What're you so sullen looking about?"

He glanced to his right to see Jack leaning against one of the pillars.

"Oh nothing, just recalling some unsightly memories."

"Well, stop recalling, and come on! I got a great idea!"

"The last time you said that you ended up being depressed for three days."

"I was NOT depressed; anyway, I swear this time things will go great!"

Pitch gave him a blank stare, before turning and walking away.

"Hey come on!"

"I don't do _fun_, Frost, and as of recently, I don't _have_ to in order to spread fear."

Jack quickly flew in front of him, and Pitch came to a stop with a sigh.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I agree, are you?"

Jack nodded with a mischievous smile. Pitch muttered under his breath, but gestured for him to lead the way. He and Jack exited the underground lair, and headed for the frozen lake. The sky was darkening slightly, indicating it was late in the afternoon.

"What do you want, Frost? As hard as it is to believe, I _do_ have other plans."

"I know you do, but I just wanted to try something; now, I want you to stay in the trees for a minute, but you can come out when I call, okay?"

Pitch merely nodded nonchalantly, and stood in the shadows of a tree while Jack flew out to the lake. Upon peering past the trunk, Pitch could see a group of children…_those_ children.

"Jack, where'd you go? We don't have a lot of time before we have to go back home." Jamie asked as the winter spirit landed in front of the group.

"Sorry kiddo, had to go get a friend."

"A friend? Who?"

"Friends now, are we?" Pitch asked, appearing behind Jack.

The children yelped, jumping back and taking cover behind Jamie. Jack sighed in annoyance, and looked back at the Boogeyman.

"I told you to wait."

"That was before you referenced me as your 'friend'. I wouldn't call us friends, I'd go with…associates."

"Jack, why is he here?" Pippa asked uneasily.

"This isn't the introduction I was hoping for…okay, look; Pitch agreed to a truce, so now he's…sorta nice?"

"I wouldn't go THAT far…" Pitch muttered, looking at his nails.

"Anyway, point is, he's not gonna hurt you, and even if he tries, you got me, so no need to worry, alright?"

"As enjoyable as this conversation is, can someone tell me why I had to leave the comfort of my lair hours before I'm allowed to go spread fear?"

"Because we got this really awesome idea for a prank that you can help us with." Jack replied.

Pitch glowered at him, and was just about to refuse, when a pink and yellow bundle ran up beside Jack.

"Fun, fun, fun!" Sophie squealed.

"C'mon, you can't say no to this little face." Jack said with a smirk.

Pitch stared at him with a skeptical glare, before looking down at Sophie with the intent of saying no. Her big green eyes were focused on him, with a large grin on her face. Those eyes were filled with such childlike innocence, unmarred by the brutality of the world, seeming to stare right into his darkened soul-

With a frustrated sigh, he met Jack's smug grin.

"_Fine…_"

:::::::::::::::::::::::

"Was that great or what?" Jack laughed.

"Did you see them running? I don't think a brick wall coulda stopped them!" Claude guffawed.

"They screamed like little girls!" Caleb added.

The children and two spirits were gathered in the park, most of them laughing, save for Pitch.

"That's what they get for being mean to Sophie." Cupcake stated.

"So I'd say this prank of vengeance was a complete success, right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, and it went really great thanks to Pitch!" Jamie added.

All eyes turned to the Boogeyman, and he continued examining his nails.

"Honestly, I don't see WHY I was required for this…" he muttered.

"Are you kidding? Your horses freaked them out, and then it got really dark, and then that black sand grabbed them and-"

"Yes, I know what happened, I was the one that caused it."

"Thanks for helping us, you should do something like this again for Halloween!"

"No."

"Aw c'mon, it'd be fun!" Jack said.

"Again, not my area of expertise."

"You looked like you were having a good time pranking those kids to me."

Pitch glared at him in warning, and Jack held his hands up in surrender.

"Just pointing it out…"

"Yes, well, don't; now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for a slumber party on 6th Avenue. They'll be watching the Halloween series tonight…"

Pitch vanished into the shadows of the trees, leaving a smirking Jack and a confused group of children behind.

"So…did we do all that right?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, I think he had fun, no matter what he says. Plus, it takes care of getting revenge on those guys; no one messes with you or Sophie without any repercussions. Having it happen on the same day works out nice."

Jamie snickered, before taking Sophie's hand.

"We gotta get home. Bye Jack, tell Bunny that Sophie says hi."

"Hop, hop, hop!" the 5 year old blonde cheered.

"I will, see ya kiddo."

The children headed for their houses, and Jack took to the air and headed for his lake.

::::::::::::::::::::::::;

_Hope you're enjoying this, please leave reviews!_


	4. If Anyone's Doing You In, It's Me

"Piiiiiiiiiiiitch!"

The Boogeyman winced as the voice of a familiar winter spirit echoed throughout his lair. Couldn't that ice loving brat leave him alone for ONE day? He ducked into the shadows, and after some slinking around, he found Jack wandering around near the entrance to the lair, staff slung over his shoulders.

'_Perhaps if I stay hidden he'll just leave…'_

"Heeeey, Pitch, where are ya? I know you're probably watching me; if you don't come out I'm gonna start breakin' stuff!"

'_He wouldn't dare…'_

Jack approached one of the very few vases Pitch kept in his lair.

"This looks expensive."

He took the staff in both hands, holding it like a bat, and drew back to swing. The staff was suddenly yanked out of his grip, and black sand wrapped around his ankle and yanked him into the air. He was met with an upside down Pitch holding his staff, and even upside down Pitch's frown didn't look like a smile.

"Oh, there you are. Whatcha doin?"

"Catching pests; what are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, just hangin' around."

Pitch's frown deepened, while Jack's face cracked a grin. It vanished when Jack was abruptly dropped to the ground.

"Can't you give me ONE day of peace?" Pitch sighed.

"Of course not, what kind of Guardian of Fun would I be if I didn't try to liven up someone's dull life?"

"And what makes you think my life is dull?"

"You stay here _all_ the time until nightfall. You need to do something besides lurk around here all day."

"I don't need _you_ to find things for me to do, Frost."

"Are you sure? You don't exactly strike me as the fun-loving sort."

"Congratulations, you finally figured that out. Now kindly leave me alone, I have plans to put into action."

"What plans?"

"There's an old rundown psyche ward in Idaho that a group of 'ghost hunters' are checking out."

"…Why?"

"I don't know, they're idiots; anyway, I have scaring to do, now if you'll excuse me."

He handed Jack his staff back, and turned to melt back into the shadows.

"Can I come?"

"No!"

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"It doesn't matter how many times you say it or how many pretty's you put in front of it, you're not coming with me! The last time you accompanied me, you made a mockery of fear!"

"Oh, I throw _one_ snowball-"

"And fear does not involve snowballs!"

"I was bored, okay?"

"And you want to come to another one?"

Jack was silent for a few seconds, and looked away. Pitch studied him for a moment, before asking,

"What's the real reason you want to come along?"

Jack met his gaze, before looking away again.

"Everyone's really busy; North's really focused on Christmas this year, Tooth and Sandy have been more busy than usual, and with Easter a week away, Bunny hasn't left the Warren. So…you're the only one with free time."

"What about your little band of children?"

"They're all on Spring break, so they went on a camping trip together and won't be back for a few days."

Pitch was silent for a moment as Jack stared up at him with big pleading eyes. He could tell the boy was afraid he would say no, and that he would be forced to be alone. He was always worried that he was going to be left alone again. After a minute had passed, Pitch let out a sigh.

"Fine, you can come; BUT," he said once Jack's eyes lit up, "If I see one snowball, or hear the smallest hint of laughter, I will take your staff and lock you in one of the closets and see how long it takes until you're driven insane!"

Jack held up a hand.

"Okay, okay, I promise; there will be no fun in the area. Can we go now?"

Pitch nodded, and they were both incased in shadows.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jack was perched on a beam in what was presumably the cafeteria of the used to be psyche ward. He was struggling to hold in a laugh as he watched Pitch circling the investigators. The entire building was dark, save for a few lights, allowing Pitch to travel just about anywhere in the building within seconds.

"Is there anyone in the room with us? If so, please speak directly into the microphone!" one of the investigators called.

Jack let out a soft snicker, and Pitch's eyes snapped to him for a moment, slightly annoyed. Jack shrugged, still smirking, but kept quiet. Pitch shook his head, before returning his attention to the group. He summoned a handful of nightmare sand, and tossed it over the group. One of them, a man who looked about twenty years old and seemed to be the youngest, suddenly yelped.

"Did-did you guys feel that?"

"Feel what?" another man asked.

"Did you guys feel that chill just now? I swear I felt something!"

"Don't be such a baby, Hal."

"Didn't you hear what the owner said? There were people that died here-!"

"Duh, that's why we're here. Dead people mean spirits!"

Jack shook his head with a grin, before dropping from the beam and landing beside Pitch.

"Hey, I'm gonna go take a look around the place. Let me know when ya get done!"

"Very well, but do tread carefully. As the jumpy boy said, there are many lost souls around here, and some aren't too friendly." Pitch stated.

"Oh, what's this, the Boogeyman expressing worry over little old me?"

"No, of course not; but if anyone's going to finish you off it's going to be me."

Jack rolled his eyes, and wandered towards the adjoining hallway.

"I'm serious though, there are malevolent spirits around here. This _was_ a psyche ward…"

"I got it, I got it."

Jack quickly flew out of the room, leaving a chill in the air that once again set Hal on edge.

"Tell me you guys felt that!"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jack had been to a lot of depressing places, but this building took the cake. There was graffiti on the walls, and most of it Jack knew would get him knocked in the head if he ever said it in front of North or Bunny.

"This place could use some lightening up…" he muttered, wandering into an empty room.

Or at least, he thought it was empty.

In the corner of the room was a girl who looked to be in her mid-teens. She had blonde hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in days, and wore an unkempt white dress.

"Huh, I didn't know there was anyone else here." Jack remarked, watching her.

He was surprised when she turned to face him. Her pale blue eyes stared right at him.

"Hey, can you see me?" he asked.

She nodded slowly, and Jack approached her.

"Well, it's probably not safe for you to be here at night alone. Want me to take you home?"

"I am home…" she hissed.

Her voice sounded like the hiss of steam, and her eyes suddenly turned white. Her mouth opened wide, revealing needle sharp teeth, and let out an unearthly scream. Jack yelped, jumping back, but the girl lunged at him, and everything went white.

:::::::::::::::::::::::

Pitch paused for a moment, sensing a sudden spike in fear. It wasn't from any of the ghost hunters in the room; Hal had fled the building ten minutes ago, and Pitch was messing with the shadows and forming images to startle the rest of them. The leader was one tough nut to crack, but Pitch relished a challenge, it made the fear taste better.

Now though, he was sensing new fear; it had a slight chill to it, and it had to be the sweetest fear he'd ever tasted…a Guardian's fear…

'_Frost, what did you do…?'_ he thought with a mental sigh.

Reluctantly, he left the room in search of the winter spirit.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_It was dark, and there were voices everywhere, shouting, laughing, screaming._

_And the pain was unbearable. It felt like he was being stabbed with thousands of needles._

"_They did this to me! They messed me up! They said they would make me better!"_

_There were shadowy people looking down, holding a bunch of sparking cords and syringes. Voices were hissing and laughing, he was squirming in a set of restraints as the cords were lowered towards him-_

"JACK WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!"

His eyes snapped open, and he tried to sit up, but something was holding his arms. He kicked out with a yell, and came in contact with something. Whatever it was let out a hiss, before it shook him.

"Will you snap out of it?!"

Everything came into focus, and he found himself looking at Pitch. The Boogeyman was rubbing his jaw, and giving him an irritated, but slightly worried look.

"P-Pitch…?"

"Did I NOT warn you about malevolent spirits?!"

"W-well, yeah, but…she didn't look like a ghost…at first…"

"You imbecile, of course they look innocent, that's how they lure you in! What were you thinking, you could've been put in a coma-!"

Pitch paused, taking in Jack's appearance. He was shaking terribly, and his eyes were wide and he looked ready to burst into tears.

Perhaps shouting wasn't the best way to go about this…

With a sigh, he smoothed back his hair, and looked down at the still shaken guardian, who'd drawn his knees up to his chest.

"Are you alright?" he finally asked.

Jack looked up at him for a moment, before hesitantly nodding. He grabbed his staff, and shakily got to his feet. He stumbled a little, but regained his balance, and he swore that, for a second, Pitch had moved to catch him.

"I-I'm fine…"

Jack gave a small grin.

"I d-didn't know you cared…"

Pitch rolled his eyes.

"I don't, but if something happens to you when I'm around, I doubt the Guardians will believe that a ghost did it."

Jack snickered, before massaging his head.

"Okay, I don't care if you keep up the ghost hunter scaring thing, but can you send me home? I think I'm done for the night…"

Pitch nodded, and with a wave of his hand, Jack was whisked away by a wave of nightmare sand.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_I feel I got a little creepy with this chapter…but I hope you guys liked it!_


	5. Arachnophobia

Phobias were one of the most fun fears to toy with, and Pitch couldn't get enough of them. From hydrophobia to arachnophobia, and his most personal favorite, achluophobia, or fear of darkness, the list of phobias was as long as it was diverse.

It was one of the many phobias that brought him to the little house in the country. The woman owning the house was fast asleep, giving Pitch the perfect opportunity to give her a lovely nightmare about insects. Of all the people he'd come across, he'd never met anyone with such a severe case of insectophobia. This lady couldn't stand the sight of bugs.

Just as she was starting to whimper in her sleep, Pitch heard a soft knocking sound. He glanced around, and spotted Jack outside one of the windows. He gave a grin as he waved, and Pitch responded with a frown, before returning his attention to the squirming woman. Another knock brought his attention back to Frost, who motioned for Pitch to open the window. Pitch continued to glare at him, before he finally consented and unlocked the window.

"Hey, how's the scaring going?"

"It was going perfectly well until I was interrupted."

"I'm not interrupting, just checkin' up on ya. Whatcha doing tonight?"

"Oh, enjoying the spoils of insectophobia."

"Right…what's that?"

"Insectophobia, fear of bugs."

Jack nodded, and looked at the woman, who was still moaning in her sleep.

"She's really afraid of bugs? That seems kinda ridiculous."

"Oh, and you're not afraid of something?"

"Not bugs, that's for sure; I can just freeze them."

Pitch snickered, before returning his attention to the woman and proceeding with the nightmare. Jack walked through the living room, and wandered into the next room, which happened to be the kitchen.

"Hey, I found the kitchen! Think she has any candy bars?"

"I don't know Frost, I tend not to ransack my victims' houses. As a Guardian, shouldn't you be a little more respectful of privacy?"

"Hey, I don't wanna hear it from a guy who sneaks under peoples' beds! How much stuff have you seen under a teenager's bed?"

"I did find a stack of rather graphic magazines under a sixteen year old boy's once. Honestly, don't parents monitor what their children read?"

"Well, it's not exactly that easy- AAAAAGH!"

There was a crashing sound from the kitchen, and Pitch winced at the noise, glancing at the woman, who surprisingly remained asleep. After ensuring she would, Pitch headed for the kitchen. He found Jack plastered to the corner where the wall met the ceiling.

"What ARE you doing, Frost? With all of your racket she'll wake up!"

"S-sorry…"

"What's the matter with you?"

Jack's eyes were fixed on the counter across the room, so Pitch approached it. He saw movement, and after moving closer and leaning in, he saw what the cause was, and let out a laugh.

"Come now, you're really scared of this little thing?"

"There is NOTHING little about that thing!"

Pitch reached forward with both hands, and cupped them around the creature causing the problem. He turned towards Jack, and opened his hands to reveal a furry brown spider that barely fit in his palm. Jack yelped and pressed further into the corner.

"It's just a spider; a Brown Recluse I believe."

"I don't care WHAT it is, just kill it!"

"Didn't you say not five minutes ago that you can easily freeze problems such as these?"

"This is different, it's huge! I don't care when they're tiny, but that thing's huge!"

Pitch smirked up at him, before fondly stroking the spider.

"I'm actually quite fond of spiders; arachnophobia is actually a very common phobia. I wish I'd known you'd had it, imagine all the fun I could've had!"

Jack glowered at him, before returning his fearful gaze to the spider.

"Shut up and get rid of that thing!"

"Fine, spineless brat…"

Pitch moved toward the kitchen window, opened it, and allowed the spider to crawl out of his hand. After it was gone, he closed the window, and turned around as Jack slowly lowered himself to the floor.

"Are you done? I have a nightmare to return to."

Jack just nodded, and trailed behind him as they reentered the living room. Pitch returned to the sleeping woman on the couch, while Jack roamed around the room. Things were silent, minus the whimpering from the woman, and Jack was just about to head out when he felt something in on his head.

"Pitch, get your hand off my head." He sighed.

"I'm over here, Frost…" Pitch snapped…from the other side of the room.

Jack slowly turned around, and saw that Pitch was facing him with a smirk. Jack felt his dread grow as whatever was on his head slowly moved upward.

"Pitch, you didn't…" he mumbled.

"Didn't what?" Pitch asked, the smirk still there.

A few seconds of silence passed, and Pitch snickered as he looked at his nails.

"Three, two, one…"

A loud, shrill scream sounded, and Jack fled through the window as he swiped at his head.

"OH MY GOD IT'S ON ME, IT'S ON ME, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OOOOOOOOFFF!"

The screams faded into the night, and Pitch let out a cackle, before holding his hand up. Some nightmare sand took the form of a spider, and he stroked it as it let out a hiss of delight.

"Oh, this is going to be fun…"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**This was based off a personal experience, except instead of a spider, it was a roach. But thank God it wasn't on me, but it was only about two inches from my face; trust me, if it landed on me…I'd probably be in the hospital from a heart attack…**_

_**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm really liking this one-shot in one story thing, it's easier than writing one-shots and posting them separately! Please leave your thoughts in the review box!**_


	6. Old vs New Part 1

Jack slowly dropped into Pitch's lair, keeping an eye on every shadow. Ever since the Boogeyman had discovered his…problem…with spiders, he hadn't left Jack alone about it. Sometimes Pitch would create shadows that looked like spiders, and they would move in the corners of his vision, making Jack jump away from them with a yelp. Other times, Pitch would dance his fingers along his neck or on his back, and send him screaming into the nearest high place.

"H-hey…Pitch? You around?" he called nervously, aiming his staff at anything that moved.

"I couldn't be anywhere else; come in further, I'm in the main room."

"Um, c-could you just…come to me?"

"Why Jack, don't you want to come in to my humble abode?"

"Enough games, Pitch, could you just meet me outside?"

He heard a distant chuckle, which he took as a yes, and he quickly flew out through the hole that led to into Pitch's lair. A few seconds later, he and Pitch were above ground, standing in the slowly fading sunlight.

"What is it this time?" Pitch asked.

"North was calling all of us together for something."

"And why call _me_?"

"I dunno, he said you might be able to help with this."

Pitch could tell Jack was just as confused as he was, so he didn't bother asking what North thought he could 'help' with. After a few seconds of silence, Jack looked up, and spotted the northern lights.

"That's our cue," he muttered, before glancing at Pitch, "Think you can keep up?"

Pitch smirked, before summoning his favorite nightmare, and mounting it.

"Oh I'm not sure you should be the one asking me that." He stated, before they took to the air.

Jack quickly followed, and the duo raced through the sky towards the distant Pole.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jack dropped into the workshop through the open hatch where Manny would appear. The rest of the Guardians were sitting around the globe, chatting idly, and Tooth was giving out locations to her helpers. They all looked up upon his arrival.

"Hey guys, Pitch should be here in a couple minutes; I left him in the dust near Africa."

The Guardians glanced at each other, before looking back up curiously.

"Jack…Pitch is already here." Tooth stated, gesturing behind them.

Pitch was leaning against one of the support beams, and he gave a small wave as he smirked. His nightmare was positioned beside him.

"What the-When did you get here?"

"About five minutes ago; I believe I win." Pitch stated, examining his nails.

"But-I-you-how did you-?"

"I can travel by shadows, Frost, it's much faster than the wind."

Jack glowered, before perching on his staff. A chirping noise sounded, before one of Tooth's helpers hovered in front of him.

"Hey Baby Tooth, been a while."

The small fairy chirped happily, and perched on his shoulder.

North glanced between the two of them, before shaking his head and speaking.

"There is problem in England," he announced, "Children are going missing in the night."

The Guardians and Pitch were silent for a moment, before Tooth spoke up.

"Missing? What do you mean?"

"They go to bed as usual, then in the morning, _poof, _they are gone!"

"Gone?"

"Poof?" Jack asked with a bit of a smirk.

He received an annoyed glare from pretty much everyone, and he shrugged. North shook his head and continued.

"Some of the spirits in England are getting worried, so they asked us to look into it."

"And this has _what_ to do with me?" Pitch asked nonchalantly.

"Pitch, kids are going missing, this is bad." Tooth replied.

"I suppose I can't have possible victims vanishing, but what's in it for me? I'm not a _Guardian_ so I'm not _required_ to help."

Bunny looked ready to jump at him, and Jack was giving him an annoyed glare. Tooth and North glanced at one another, attempting to think of something Pitch would agree to help them for. Sandy suddenly approached him, and a calendar was formed from his golden sand. Several X's appeared on one of the weeks, and Sandy pointed at Pitch.

"Hm, I suppose I can work with that."

Jack cocked his head in confusion, before leaning over to Bunny.

"What'd he give him?" he asked quietly.

"One'a his weeks in Ireland."

"Ah, the Lucky Country, right?"

"That's Australia ya dill."

"Are you sure it's not Ireland? They're the ones with the Leprechaun and gold and four leaf clovers-"

"I am very sure which of the continents _I_ made is the lucky one."

"Gentlemen, we have more important things to be discussing." North cut in.

Bunny muttered under his breath, while Jack snickered and hopped down from his staff.

"So, we're going to England?" he asked.

North nodded, and Jack's smile widened.

"Woo-hoo, funny accents!"

Pitch glowered at him.

"Excuse me?" he hissed.

Jack cracked a grin and held up his hands.

"Hey, no offense; it's just fun to hear different accents. First time I met Bunny his nearly killed me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Pooka snapped.

"Nothing, nothing; and don't even get me started on North's."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" the Russian asked.

Jack glanced between him, Bunny, and Pitch, before sighing.

"Geez, I make one comment about accents…"

Tooth and Sandy studied them all for a moment, before Tooth spoke up.

"Shouldn't we get going guys?"

The men looked up at her, before North responded.

"Tooth is right, we have important things to be doing. To the sleigh everyone!"

Bunny let out a moan.

"Can't I just take my tunnels?"

"Bah, no fun in that, come on old friend!"

Bunny didn't much of a choice, as North started pushing towards the sleigh room. Tooth and Sandy followed, secretly laughing at Bunny's expense, while Jack and Pitch followed behind.

"Look, seriously, I'm not making fun of your accent!"

"Keep your mouth shut Frost, before I decide to gut you…"

A few minutes later, the group was climbing into the sleigh, save for Pitch. He was giving the sleigh a distasteful look.

"Hey Pitch, you comin' or not?" Jack asked from the front seat.

"I would sooner stand out in the sun in Hawaii before I would climb into this death trap."

"Oh come on, how else are you gonna get there?"

The nightmare from before appeared from the shadows, snorting and pawing at the icy floor with its hoof.

"Where's the fun in that, Pitch?"

"How many times must I say I DON'T. DO. FUN?"

"Just get in."

"No."

"Come on, give your pony a break and let's go."

The nightmare snorted at him angrily, and Pitch glared at him.

"They are NOT ponies, they are NIGHTMARES. The next times you call them that, I will rip your tongue out of your mouth."

Jack snickered, before leaning back against the side of the sleigh.

"Well, I guess if you're afraid, you don't have to ride in it."

"I am NOT afraid I just prefer to travel by-"

"Bok bok!"

Pitch's eyes narrowed, and Jack met it with a smug grin.

"…_Fine…_" he spat through gritted teeth.

The nightmare glanced at him, before slipping back into the shadows. Pitch stalked towards the sleigh, and stepped inside. He distanced himself in the back seat, sending his ire at Jack through a glare. The winter sprite merely smirked, and leaned on the side of the sleigh.

"Let's go!" North yelled, snapping the reins.

The reindeers whinnied, and surged forward. Bunny yelped, and clung to the side of the sleigh, his claws digging into the wood. Pitch glanced at him, and smirked at the waves of fear coming off him. Honestly, what could be so bad about a mere sleigh ride?

Pitch soon got his answer when the vehicle dropped down a runway of ice. Bunny was yelling at North to slow down, to which the Cossack merely laughed and activated the rockets on the back of the sleigh, pushing them even faster. Pitch found himself clinging to the side of the sleigh for dear life.

If anyone said they'd heard a few yelps from the Boogeyman, he would vehemently deny any claims…and skin anyone who continued to say it, alive.

Finally, after many dips, sliding, swerving, loop-de-looping, and lurching as the reindeer maneuvered through the icy tunnel, they were outside, and flying off a ramp. Bunny let out another yell as North pulled a barrel roll, before straightening the sleigh out. Pitch loosened his cramped fingers from their grip on the sleigh, and let out a shaky breath.

"Never again will I allow you to talk me into something like this…" he hissed, shooting a glare at Jack.

Bunny was still gripping the hand rails on the side, moaning, and trying to keep his lunch from making a reappearance.

"Are we ready everyone?" North asked, pulling out a snow globe.

"Awww, can't we just fly there? The sleigh ride's enough…" Bunny moaned.

"No time; to England!"

He threw the snow globe ahead of them, and burst into a colorful portal. Pitch silently gulped, while Bunny let out another yelp as they flew into it, and it closed behind them.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

In England, the moon was rising, shining his bright light down on London. In a particular room, a blonde haired girl was curled up asleep in her bed, the faint traces of a smile on her face.

Suddenly, the door to her closet opened without a sound. Two red eyes shown out of it, their gaze fixed on the girl. The sound of a flute suddenly filled the room, and the girl's eyes snapped open. She slowly got out of bed, her pale blue eyes devoid of any emotion. She walked stiffly towards the closet, and vanished into the shadows inside.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;

_**So Pitch and the Guardians have to work together; how will this turn out? And what's happening to the children in England? Stay tuned to find out! Leave your opinions in the review box!**_


	7. Old vs New Part 2

The portal reopened over London, and the sleigh landed on the roof of a nearby building.

"Alright, let's go!" Jack exclaimed, jumping out of the sleigh.

"Hold on, Jack," North said, grabbing the back of the teens hoodie, "We don't know where start is. We must look for clues. Pitch, you can cover great distances at night, so we were hoping you could help us with that."

The Boogeyman nodded.

"But it could be dangerous, so we will break into teams; Tooth, you are with me, Sandy, you go with Pitch, and Jack, you team up with Bunny."

The response was instantaneous.

"WHAT?!" Jack, Bunny, and Pitch exclaimed. Sandy had exclamation points and question marks over his head, indicating he was feeling the same.

"It will be good for the four of you to learn to work together."

"I don't wanna work with this dill!" Bunny snapped.

"Hey, I'm not a dill! What does that even mean? Isn't that some sorta pickle or something?" Jack retorted.

"North, you've obviously lost whatever's left of your mind if you think I'm going to work with _him_!" Pitch hissed, gesturing at Sandy with one hand. Sandy was frowning at North, indicating he was feeling the same.

"See, this is what I am talking about. You all need to learn to work with each other-!"

"I'm not working with him!"

"Yer off ya rocker, North!"

Tooth glanced back and forth as the men argued with one another. As they were doing so, she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and glanced towards it. A white figure flitted down an alley, and she gasped.

"Hey, there's something down there!" she called quietly.

The arguing men took a break, and looked first at her, then in the direction she was pointing. They jumped from the roof, and followed the figure into the dark alley.

Most of them were squinting to see in the dim light, except for Pitch, who easily spotted their prey. He sent a wave of nightmare sand at it, and it jumped into view; it appeared to be wearing a long sleeved white dress that covered its feet, if it had any, but the scariest thing about it was its face. It was a skull, with needle sharp teeth, and had black pits where the eyes would be. The…thing…let out a inhuman screech, and lunged at them with clawed skeletal hands.

Pitch quickly vanished into the shadows, and the Guardians ducked out of the way. The creature flew into the streets, and the group quickly followed. It tried to fly off, but a stream of dreamsand wrapped around its waist and slammed it into the side of a building. It screeched again, and flew at the nearest target, which happened to be Tooth. She flew back with a yelp, but the creature was deflected by a blast of ice. Jack flew between her and the monster, his staff aimed at it threateningly. The creature rested for a few moments, hissing and growling at the immortals furiously.

"What _is_ that thing?" Tooth asked.

"I dunno…Pitch?" Jack glanced at the Boogeyman questioningly. Pitch shook his head.

"I don't have the slightest idea."

The monster suddenly shrieked, and lunged at the Boogeyman. Startled, he quickly summoned his scythe, and swung at it. It drew back quickly, and lunged again while he was in mid swing, leaving him no time to react. He was sent flying into the wall, and it got ready to charge again, but suddenly, there was a loud screech, and Pitch's nightmare charged out of the shadows. It struck the monster, and slammed it into the wall. The nightmare quickly drew back, moving to Pitch's side as he stood.

The Guardians and Pitch all approached the monster carefully as it let out a weak squeal. Jack hesitantly poked it with the tip of his staff, but other than a shudder, it didn't respond. Then, it suddenly disintegrated, leaving nothing but dust.

"What was that thing? It looked something off the Sci-Fi channel." Jack remarked.

"Yeah, and why was it goin' after you?" Bunny asked, glancing at Pitch.

The Boogeyman merely shook his head, glaring at the pile of dust as it was blown away by the wind.

"Whatever it was, it must be part of the disappearances." Tooth stated.

North nodded, before turning to the rest of the men.

"Gentlemen, there is obviously something very bad going on here; despite personal conflicts, we must work together to protect the children."

They all glanced at one another, before slowly nodding.

"Very good, then let us split up, and should you find any more of those…creatures, destroy them at once."

He received more nods, and a salute from Jack and Sandy. They divided into their teams, and split up.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

In a dark cemetery, two figures cast in shadows stood upon a hill under a dying willow tree.

"So, the Guardians are here, eh?"

"Y-yes…I saw them fighting one of your banshees…"

"Hmm, this should be interesting."

"A-and…I saw _him_ with them…"

"…You saw Pitch Black…?"

"Y-yes…he's helping them."

A laugh suddenly broke out from the larger figure, and the smaller one winced.

"Oh, this just got better! Let's see, let's see, what can I do? Hm…you said you saw Jack Frost with them as well?"

There was a pause, before the small figure stammered, "Y-yes…"

"Good, now here's what you're going to do…"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Seriously, what _are_ these things?" Jack exclaimed as he shot another blast of ice at one of the strange monsters.

He and Bunny had come across another group of them, and had managed to destroy two of them, but the remaining one was proving to be a challenge.

"I don't know, but if these things are what's takin' the ankle-biters, we better keep this up." Bunny replied, flinging another boomerang at it.

Jack nodded, and sent another blast. He managed to freeze its arm to the brick wall of a store, and Bunny sent a boomerang at its chest. It screeched one final time, before bursting into a cloud of dust.

"Woo…okay, can we take a break?" Jack asked, leaning against the side of the building.

Bunny nodded, crouching down to rest as well as study the dust left behind.

"Wonder where these drongos came from?" he murmured.

Jack shook his head silently.

"So…guess we're doing pretty good as a team, huh?"

Bunny glanced at him with a smirk.

"Yeah, guess yer not too annoying when a situation arises."

"Aw, thanks Kangaroo."

Bunny's smirk dropped, replaced by glower, and Jack snickered.

They both stopped though, when another creature flew past the alley.

"Don't these things ever sleep or something?"

"Aw quit yer belly-achin' and come on!"

Bunny took off after it, and Jack was about to follow him, when something grabbed him from behind, knocking his staff from his hand.. Two of the creatures grabbed his arms, while another clamped its skeletal hands over his mouth. He thrashed in their grip, trying to free his mouth, but they held him tightly, and dragged into the shadows cast by the building.

"Hello, Jack Frost." A British accented voice greeted.

Jack froze for a moment, and a shape formed in the darkness. As it came closer, Jack could make out features. Whoever it was wore a black tuxedo with a red tie and black cape over his shoulders. When he stepped closer, Jack felt his heart stop; his head was a skull, but instead of pits like the creatures, he had piercing red eyes.

"I don't believe we've met; the name's Bloody Bones, or Rawhead, or Tommy. Really they'll all work, but I'd prefer Bones if you please."

The man extended a skeletal hand while grinning with milk white teeth, and Jack glanced from it to Bones with a questioning glare.

"Oh, sorry, guess we can't really shake hands if you're all tied up, huh? Haha, sorry about that, kid."

Jack glared at him, before thrashing in the creatures' grip once again. Bones chuckled as he watched him.

"Oh yes, aren't my banshees marvelous things? They're immune to pain and emotion unless I put it into them. I wouldn't thrash around too much though, you'll only wear yourself out."

Jack ignored him, and kicked out at Bones. He made contact with the man's stomach, and he grunted as he took a step back.

"Okay, if you're gonna play it that way…"

He snapped his fingers, and another figure suddenly stepped towards them. In the minimal light, Jack could make out a jester like outfit.

"I'd like to introduce my associate, I'm sure you've heard of him," Bones said, pulling something from the shadows. When the area was illuminated, it was revealed to be an old fashioned oil lamp.

Its light provided a better view of the new arrival; he appeared to be in his early twenties, and had shoulder length black hair. Two bright green eyes stared at Jack from a white painted face covered in red squiggly lines. His attire was made up of a multi-colored tunic and tights with a diamond pattern, red gloves, and red boots with bells attached to the tips. On his head was a matching multi-colored hat with bells on the ends as well. In his hands was an intricately designed silver flute.

"Jack Frost, meet the Pied Piper."

Pied Piper meekly met Jack's questioning gaze, before looking away.

"He's been such a great help to me, luring children from their beds and homes. It makes it much easier to snag them without being noticed."

Pied Piper winced as Jack's glare switched from Bones to him.

"I-I…I didn't want to…"

"No, he didn't want to, but of course," Bones grinned as leaned over the Piper, dragging a sharp finger over his cheek, "_Torture_ is very useful for persuasion…"

The Piper flinched away from him, and Bones laughed, before returning his attention to Jack.

"Now then, we have plans to put into action, so you'll have to sleep for a while; Piper, if you will."

Piper glanced at Jack, before mumbling, "I'm sorry…"

Putting his flute to his mouth, a soft tune filled the air, and Jack found himself slowly slipping into slumber.

"Immortal or not, you're still a child, therefore, the Piper's flute will still affect you." Bones stated.

Jack barely heard him as he weakly struggled in the grip of the banshees, but it was no use. The fog of sleep overtook him, sending him into darkness.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Bunny had taken off after the banshee, not even bothering to check if Jack was behind him.

He followed the thing through the streets of London, straining himself in order to keep up. He only noticed Jack's absence when they'd finally stopped in a park, and he found himself fighting the banshee alone.

"Jack, where are ya?" he yelled as he flung everything he had at the creature.

He received no answer though. He was shocked however, when the banshee suddenly turned away from him and flew off into the night. He paused for a moment, staring after it, before shaking his head and looking around.

"Jack, where are ya, this isn't the time for a joke!"

He waited for a minute, before worry set in. Surely Jack would've pulled whatever stunt he was planning by now.

He sniffed the air, but caught no scent of the winter sprite. He retraced his steps, and within a few seconds was back where they'd started. After some sniffing around, he found Jack's staff lying on the ground. Dread pooled in his gut; Jack would NEVER go anywhere without this.

Picking it up, he looked around the area, but saw no sign of Jack anywhere. Finally, his panic spilling over, Bunny shouted.

"JACK!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Uh oh….**_

_**So the mastermind is revealed! What is Bloody Bones' plan? Why is he kidnapping children? What's his problem with the Boogeyman? What has happened to Jack? All will be answered in the conclusion of this three part story arc! Leave your opinions in the review box as usual! I'm thrilled so many people like this!**_

_**So yeah, I added the Pied Piper to this. I looked him up, but I still picture him in a jester like outfit; after all, what better way to attract children than to look fun? BTW, kudos to the reviewer who figured out it was the Pied Piper in the previous chapter; I didn't think anyone would get that right away! (Though, so much for the big surprise reveal…oh well! ^^)**_


	8. Old vs New Part 3

Sandy struck out with another sand whip, and reduced the banshee to ash. He let out a sigh, before glancing around. Pitch had gone off fighting another of the strange monsters a few minutes ago and he hadn't seen him since.

Suddenly, another banshee leapt at him from the shadows, giving him no time to react. It was almost upon him as it let out a screech, when a black arrow suddenly struck its chest, and turned it to dust. He glanced behind him, and spotted Pitch as the Boogeyman was lowering his arms from their drawn position.

"You should really learn not to turn your back to danger." He remarked.

Sandy gave him an annoyed glare, and he shrugged.

"Well, it certainly didn't turn out well the last time."

The glare continued, and Pitch returned it with a sardonic smirk. Then, Sandy's eyes widened, before he sent a sand whip towards Pitch. His own eyes widened, before a screech sounded from behind him. A banshee lunged out of the shadows, but it was stopped by the whip, and flung to the ground. A blow from Pitch's scythe ended it then and there.

Pitch glanced at the Sandman, who was smirking. A few sand images formed above his head.

"_Who shouldn't turn their back to danger?"_

"Shut up…"

They exited the alley they'd been in, and glanced around the area, keeping an eye out for any more of the monsters. Sandy glanced at the Boogeyman, before forming some more images.

"_You're not too bad at this."_

Pitch merely grunted, and continued walking. Sandy said nothing for a minute, before once again trying to form a conversation.

"_You seem to get along with Jack pretty well."_

"He's less annoying than the rest of you."

Sandy had a mock offended look on his face, and Pitch shrugged.

"_Look, I'm sorry if we all seem a little suspicious, but considering our history, can you blame us?"_

"…No, I suppose not. But if I was going to make another grab for power, I would've done so by now."

"_I'm sure you would've. I'd probably come in second to trusting you, after Jack."_

Pitch raised an invisible eyebrow, and Sandy shrugged.

"_I've always known you weren't as bad as you make yourself out be, and that you could provide something essential to the world. I KNOW fear is needed in life, I've always known that; it just shouldn't rule the world."_

"Yes, I got the message last year."

"_Well, you were asking for it with that stunt; but even so, you're not so bad."_

Sandy gave a small smile.

"_You're definantly better than the last Boogeyman we had."_

Pitch actually gave a laugh.

"Yes, Tommy was a bit of a nutcase, wasn't he?"

Sandy nodded, his face darkening for a moment. It vanished when Baby Tooth suddenly appeared in front of them, chirping frantically. She pulled on Sandy and Pitch's sleeves, before taking off. The twosome glanced at one another, before quickly following.

:::::::::::::::

They were led to the rest of the Guardians, who stood under Big Ben. Tooth was flitting about frantically, while North and Bunny were discussing something in hushed voices.

"Care to explain why we had to be dragged away from our oh so important patrol shift?" Pitch asked.

The trio looked up at them as they approached.

"Something's wrong." Tooth replied.

"Isn't that why we're in London in the first place?"

"Well yes, but now we've got a bigger problem!"

"Jack's missin'." Bunny stated.

Sandy and Pitch glanced at each other, before looking back at him.

"Are you quite sure he didn't just leave you out of irritation?"

Bunny's ear twitched in annoyance, before he reached behind him and pulled something from the pack he always wore. Upon recognizing it, Pitch and Sandy felt real worry set in; it was Jack's staff.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't go anywhere withou' this." The Pooka stated.

"What happened?" Tooth asked.

"All I know is, one minute the kid's behind me, and when I turned around he wasn't there. I go back to where we'd stopped, and found his staff on the ground."

The group looked at each other worriedly, before Bunny suddenly paused, his ears twitching.

"You hear that?" he asked quietly.

Everyone paused, and slowly they started to hear what he was talking about; a soft melody was filling the night air.

"It sounds like…a flute." Tooth murmured.

They quickly followed the music, and found themselves near one of the apartment buildings of London. They peered around the corner, and spotted the cause of the music. A thin figure was skipping down the street, the bells on his outfit jingling, a silver flute in hand, and a group of children trailing after him.

"Is that…?" Tooth started.

"Only one way ta find out…" Bunny growled, before flinging a boomerang at the man.

He let out a yelp as the weapon struck his head, and he fell to the ground, the flute flying from his hands. The children seemed to snap out of their trance, and crumbled to the cobblestone streets as well, fast asleep. The Guardians quickly approached, but the mysterious man grabbed the flute, sprung to his feet, and took off towards an alley. He didn't get very far.

A nightmare charged out of the shadows, and he fell backwards with a yelp. The Guardians surrounded him, weapons at the ready.

"Don't hurt me!" he yelled, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Piper?" Tooth exclaimed.

The Pied Piper looked up at them in terror, his green eyes seeming to pop out of his skull.

"Well, this explains why parents never notice the disappearances." Pitch remarked.

"What're you doin' here? And why are you leadin' kids from their homes?" Bunny demanded.

Piper stared at them in silence for a few seconds, before bursting into tears.

"I-I didn't want to! He made me do it! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

The Guardians were taken aback by this, before Tooth hovered beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Who made you do it, Piper?"

Piper didn't answer for a few seconds, trying to calm himself down. Finally, he was stable enough to answer, and stammered,

"B-Bloody Bones…"

Pitch, Sandy, and Tooth froze in shock, while Bunny and North glanced at them curiously.

"Bloody who?" Bunny asked.

"That's right, you and North weren't around yet." Tooth said.

"Who is this Bloody Bones?" North asked.

Tooth, Sandy, and Pitch shared a solemn look, before the tooth fairy spoke.

"He was the Boogeyman before Pitch."

"…_Before_ Pitch? There's more than one Boogeyman?" Bunny exclaimed.

"No, because Bones was fired, therefore _I_ am the only one." Pitch snapped.

"Fired? How do you fire the Boogeyman?"

"It's a long story," Tooth replied, "A long, LONG time ago, in the early years of the Dark Ages, Bones was the Boogeyman; he was good at what he did too. He scared people, and his legend was used to keep children in line. But...as time went on, belief in him started to fade, and he was afraid of vanishing from the world.

"He started to lose it, so…he started kidnapping children…"

North and Bunny shared a shocked look, before looking back at Tooth.

"He'd kidnap children, and keep them for weeks, months, and one time for a year. He'd feed off their fear, and when he was done, he let them go. But…every once and a while, he'd find a child who refused to be afraid of him, and…"

Tooth broke off, and Sandy placed a hand on her shoulder, while Baby Tooth chirped sadly.

"What happened to them?" Bunny asked, even though he was sure he wouldn't like the answer.

Tooth couldn't respond, so, surprisingly, it was Pitch who spoke.

"Those children never made it home."

Horrified silence was all that came from the group. After a moment, Tooth was able to speak again.

"We lost so many children…after that, Manny had him sealed away, and a few years later, Pitch showed up and took over."

The Guardians were silent for a moment, before Bunny crouched beside Piper.

"Piper, where is he, and where's Jack?"

The Piper didn't answer, timidly meeting the other immortal's gaze.

"Piper, you have to tell us. Those kids are in danger." Tooth stated.

Piper trembled, drawing his knees up and hugging them with gloved arms.

"I can't…I wasn't supposed to get caught…" he sobbed.

"He's gonna hurt me so bad…"

"Piper, we won't let anything happen to you, but you have to tell us where to find him."

Piper met her violet eyes for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

"Th-there's a cemetery a few miles out…"

"Okay; and what about Jack?"

"B-Bones took him earlier; said he could use him for a bargaining chip if you guys found him."

"Alright, thank you."

Tooth turned to the others.

"Okay, here's the plan; my fairies and I will get these kids back to their beds. You guys go on ahead and find Bones and save Jack and the kids. Piper, you show them the way."

The men nodded. Piper shakily got to his feet, and faced the other guardians as Tooth and the mini fairies got to work.

"Alright Piper, lead the way." Bunny said.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Half an hour later, Piper and the Guardians stood outside the gates to a foggy cemetery.

"Alright, this is the place…" Piper mumbled.

"Good, thank you for helping us, Piper; now then gentlemen, let us come up with a plan." North announced.

"We go in, beat the marrow out of Bones, find Jack and the kids, and leave." Bunny stated.

"I'd like to be the one doing the beating." Pitch added.

Sandy made a fist and smacked it against his hand, indicating he wanted in on that part too.

"We might need a little more strategy than that…"

Pitch hmphed, before turning to Piper.

"You've been around him for a while, you could offer some assistance."

"I-I-I…I can't fight him. I already tried once when he first started kidnapping children…" the Piper mumbled, shifting nervously under Pitch's calculating gaze.

"Surely you know something; a weakness perhaps?"

"Um…he's got a big ego?"

"Well that makes up half of this rag tag team of ours; anything else?"

Piper was silent as he tried to think of anything, but he shook his head after a few seconds.

"No, I can't think of anything. He's just an egotistical jerk who likes to talk too much-"

A screech suddenly filled the air, and they all looked up. Two banshees were coming at them, screeching furiously. They dove towards the Piper, and he yelped as he ran away from them. He wasn't fast enough though, and the two banshees grabbed his arms and lifted him into the air, kicking and screaming.

"PUT ME DOWN! LET ME GO, LET ME GO! HELP!"

They turned and flew towards the graveyard, boomerangs, black arrows, and golden sand balls flying at them. The attacks were futile, and the banshees and Piper vanished into the fog.

"Splendid…" Pitch muttered.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**Okay, I was wrong, this is gonna be four parts. The next one will be the conclusion to this arc!**_

_**Next chapter: the Guardians face off against former Boogeyman, Bloody Bones, while trying to find and rescue Jack, Piper, and the missing children!**_


	9. Old vs New Part 4

**_Don't kill me, I know this is long overdue! But I had some hard times trying to figure out how to end this! I think you'll enjoy it, and there's a special cameo for all you Disney fans in this chapter in reward for waiting this long! So without further adue, I give you the final chapter of the Old vs. New Arc!_**

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Bloody Bones was slicing at the dying willow tree with two long bones sharpened to a point, making crisscrossed lines in the bark, when a screech sounded. He turned around as two banshees flew in, dropping Piper before him.

"Ah, Piper, there you are. I was getting worried when you didn't return on time." Bones said, sheathing his bone swords.

"So, a little banshee told me you were with the Guardians," he stated, before grabbing Piper's shirt and lifting him off the ground, "Care to explain?"

His narrowed red eyes sent a chill up Piper's spine, and he hesitated a bit before answering.

"Th-they caught me and…I had to tell them everything…"

"You _had_ to?"

"W-well…they had the Boogeyman with them and-"

He was slammed into the tree, and Bones was in his face, snarling. Only his face had drastically changed; it was now covered in blood red streaks, his teeth were now as sharp as knives, and his eyes had vanished, replaced with black pits that had a glowing red dot in their center.

"_I _AM THE BOOGEYMAN! NOT THAT CHEAP, GOTHIC WANNABE! I WAS THE ORIGINAL, AND I REFUSE TO BE USURPED AGAIN BY HIM OR THE FLOATING LUNAR INTERLOPER! UNDERSTAND?!"

Piper nodded furiously, his wide eyes staring into the red pupils fearfully.

"Good…" Bones hissed, his face returning to normal.

"I assume you led them here, so at least that makes things a little easier. Oh, I have to prepare; if that knock-off's with them, I gotta make sure our final confrontation is a dramatic one that they'll remember for centuries!"

He tossed Piper back to the banshees, who took hold of his arms again.

"Put him with the winter brat, I'll deal with him later." He ordered.

The banshees screeched in affirmation, and took to the air again. Bones watched them fly off, before smirking up at the moon.

"Thought you could get rid of me back then, didn't you? Thought you could replace me with some stupid horror movie reject; well, I'll be happy to prove you wrong when I slice that shadow sneaking blighter to bits!"

He pulled out his blades again and sliced at the tree, cutting all the way through it like butter. The willow gave a moan, before slowly falling to the ground with an earthshaking thud.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jack moaned as he came to, hand going to his throbbing head.

_'__What happened…?' _he thought as he looked around.

It was dark all around, but he could make out the cage he was in…a cage of bones. He stared at the walls and floor uneasily, but paused when he heard whimpering. He peered through the bars, and spotted another cage with several children ranging from 6 to 14 years of age.

"Hey, you kids alright?"

Only a few of them glanced up at him, the others didn't appear to hear him. One child with brown curls and bright blue eyes met his own.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked quietly.

She nodded silently.

"Don't worry, help's coming. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman are gonna find us and take you guys home, alright? Oh, wait, I forgot about Pitch; he's the Boogeyman."

The girl's eyes widened, and she shook her head violently.

"N-no, don't bring him!" she stammered. Most of the other children were curled in trembling balls and didn't look up at her sudden shout.

Jack frowned for a minute.

"Don't worry, he's gonna help you."

"He's the one that brought us here."

Jack's frown deepened with confusion.

_'__What're they talking about? Bloody Bones kidnapped them, but he's not the Boogeyman…Pitch is, isn't he?'_

He shook his head slightly, before offering a smile.

"Well, Pitch is a completely different guy; he'll help you. So, what's your name kid?"

"W-Wendy Michaels…"

"That's a nice name; I'm Jack Frost."

Wendy smiled, but seconds later it faded at the sound of screeching. Two banshees flew into the dark room they were in, and the children whimpered at the sound. Jack could see a thin figure dangling between the two creatures as they approached a small empty cage. They opened the door, and tossed the figure inside, before flying back out of the hole they'd arrived through.

There was a jingling noise, and Jack could just make out a jester's hat in the gloom.

"Piper?" he called.

The Piper flinched, and lifted his head.

"J-Jack…"

"So what brings you here, huh?"

"I-I know you're angry…but I really didn't want to help him…"

"Then why DID you?"

"It wasn't by choice okay? I wanted to fight him, I tried, but there's only so much I can do with a bloody flute! A horde of rats and birds weren't exactly the best fighters against an army of banshees!"

Jack studied him for a moment as he rested his chin on his arms, and let out a sigh.

"The banshees took them out in a heartbeat; they grabbed me before I could get away. Bones said I could either help him, or..."

"But he can't kill you, or any of us, right?"

"He could, but he won't...and now that I led the Guardians here...h-he's gonna hurt me so bad..."

Piper curled into a trembling ball, while Jack perked up at the mention of the Guardians.

"They're here? Well then, don't worry, they'll find us and get everyone outta here."

Piper peered up at him, and Jack offered an encoraging smile, before it fell into a questioning frown.

"I do have a question, though; the kids here said the Boogeyman brought them here, but..._Pitch _is the Boogeyman, not Bones...isn't he?"

"He is now, but a long time ago Bones was the Boogeyman. He did...things, horrible things to kids when they stopped believing in him...Man in the Moon sealed him away, and Pitch showed up and took the mantle. Now that he's back though...Bones...wasn't happy that he got replaced, so he's planning to...somehow he's gonna..."

Jack stared at him in shock.

"He's...gonna kill Pitch Black..." Piper continued.

::::::::::::::::::::::

"So, Plan B, mates?" Bunny asked.

"Do we even _have _a plan B?" Pitch asked.

"Of course we have plan B...what is plan B, Sandy?" North asked, turning to the Sandman.

Sandy froze for a moment, before shrugging helplessly. Pitch sighed, rolling his eyes as he rubbed his forehead.

"Honestly, I can't believe I lost to you lot..."

"Anyway, I still say we just bust in and beat the marrow out of that Bones character!" Bunny stated.

"Gate is locked; it will take time to-" North started.

Suddenly, Pitch summoned his scythe and swung at the chained gate. The chains and padlock fell off, and hit the ground with a soft _thunk_.

"There, problem solved." he stated, before strolling in casually.

The Guardians watched him go for a moment, glanced at each other, before following him into the fog. They walked for what seemed like hours, before Bunny finally exclaimed,

"What's with this bloody fog?! Even for London this is extreme!"

"It makes for a dramatic backdrop, don't you agree?" a new voice asked.

The group came to an immediate halt, looking around for the speaker, and found him perched atop a tombstone.

"Greetings Guardians, you're looking well," Bones stated, grinning, before looking at Pitch, and it dropped into a disgusted frown, "Ugh, you brought the wannabe..."

Pitch returned it with a sardonic grin that was more bared teeth than anything.

"This coming from the _has-been." _

Boneslet out a growl, his face flickering to his other form for a moment, before turning back. Pitch raised an invisible brow.

"Oh, the _scary face; _was that supposed to be your special ability back then? No wonder people stopped believing in you..."

This time Bones' face changed completely, and he lunged off the tomb while pulling one of his swords out.

"SHUT UP YA CHEAP LOOKING KNOCK-OFF!" he shouted, slicing at Pitch.

The current Boogeyman blocked it swiftly and easily with his scythe, and he knocked Bones off his feet, quickly pinning him down with his foot on his chest, and the blade of the scythe inches from his neck.

"Why don't the rest of you Guardians find Frost and the brats; I have everything under control..." Pitch said with a smirk.

"Uh, no offense, Pitch, but do ya think you can handle him on yer own?" Bunny asked.

Pitch let out a soft laugh, and glanced at them over his shoulder.

"Now rabbit, what _ever_ made you think I was alone?"

Eerie neighing filled the air, and nightmares materialized from the fog, surrounding Pitch and Bones. Bones gave a wry smirk as he glanced at the black sand horses.

"Oh goodie, you brought your ponies," he laughed, "I can't _wait _to see them get ripped apart."

Familiar screeching sounded, and several banshees appeared around them. Pitch met his smirk, before glancing at the Guardians again.

"Are you quite sure you wish to stick around?"

"Good luck!" Bunny replied, before quickly turning and racing off.

North was quick to follow, but Sandy was hesitant to leave. He glanced at Pitch for a moment, worry clearly showing in his eyes, before slowly following the others. Pitch returned his attention to Bones, and quickly jumped away when one of the banshees flew at him. Bones got to his feet, fixing his suit, and the duo sized each other up.

"So, where'd you get the flying sheets?" Pitch asked.

"Oh, a few tortured souls I came across here and there around the world."

Pitch snickered, before all humor left both of them. The nightmares and banshees hissed and screeched at one another, awaiting the first order from their respective masters. After a few minutes, they both spoke it in unison.

"Attack."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Okay, try using your flute magic on some of those rats and see if they'll bring us the keys!" Jack ordered.

Piper nodded with a sigh; they'd been at this for the last ten minutes, trying to hypnotize the nearby animals that were in the underground cavern, but they seemed immune. Piper wasn't too surprised, Bones wouldn't be stupid enough to give him any chance to escape. That was why he'd left Jack's staff behind when he took him.

The air was filled with the hypnotic music of the flute, but other than looking up with beady red eyes, the rats didn't respond.

"I told you, Bones made sure _no one _could get out of here, including me..."

Jack sighed as he leaned back against the cage wall; it was weird not having his staff. He felt naked without it.

"So we're just supposed to sit here and wait for rescue? That's not my style."

Piper rolled his eyes.

"Well that's about all we can do; Neither of us have the means to escape. And it'll take a while for the Guardians to find us, if Bones hasn't taken them out already-"

An explosion cut him off, and the children let out shrieks. Jack and Piper glanced in the direction of the explosion, and saw three figures.

"Guys? Hey, North, Bunny, Sandy, we're up here!" Jack called.

The Guardians glanced up at him, and relief flashed through their eyes.

"Jack, you are alright!" North exclaimed.

"I'm fine; hey look I found the kids!"

The trio shook their heads, and started opening the cages. Bunny freed Jack and Piper, and handed Jack his staff.

"Lose somethin'?" he asked with a smirk.

Jack returned it as he took the wooden stick.

"Har har; where're Tooth and Pitch?"

"Tooth's takin' care of a few kids that almost got kidnapped earlier, and Pitch is dealing' with Bones."

"Alone?"

"Well, he's got his horse army with him, so I don't know if I'd say _alone-" _

"We need to get back to him; _now_!"

"Why, Jack whatsa matter?" Bunny asked as Jack to the air.

"That Bones guy is gonna take him down!"

"Jack, Pitch is capable of handling Bones, I am sure." North stated.

Piper suddenly chimed in.

"No, you don't understand; he's been planning this for _months_. He started taking kids to gain a little power, but he mostly did it so their fear would attract him. He's got a trap ready, and Pitch just fell right into it."

The Guardians seemed confused, and Jack took to the air.

"Well I'm going to find him, you guys take care of the kids."

The other spirits nodded, but Sandy held up his hand, his sand forming images.

_"I'm going with you." _

Jack nodded, and they both flew off as the others got to work freeing the children, who were murmuring excitedly as they stared at the Guardians in awe.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The graveyard looked like Pandora had opened her cursed box nearby. Banshees and nightmares were screeching at each other, biting, tearing, clawing, and kicking. Tombs were either knocked over or shattered.

Bones, with both swords out and his skull still terrifying, stalked among the still standing tombstones, eyes peeled for any movement.

"Get out of your lousy shadows and fight me like a man!" he shouted.

He sensed something behind him, and whipped around in time to block a slice from Pitch's scythe. Yellow eyes met red, and Pitch smirked as he pressed down harder on his weapon.

"You can't win, Tommy, just surrender and I can avoid killing you."

Bones glowered at him, before smirking.

"Before you do that, can you step back a couple inches?"

Pitch frowned in confusion, before a banshee suddenly sprung out of the ground and grabbed his ankle. Bones took advantage of the distraction, got to his feet, and threw a kick that knocked the Boogeyman off his feet. He quickly pounced before he could get back up, and pinned Pitch down with his foot on his throat, and Bones gripped one sword in both hands.

"I'm not going back to being nothing but a distant memory! There's only room for one Boogeyman in this world, and it's not gonna be you!"

Pitch only snarled in response as he tried to pry the foot off his neck. His nightmares screeched as they tried to approach, but the banshees kept them at bay. As an immortal, one would think he couldn't be killed; but that only applied to a certain point. If an immortal were injured badly enough, they _would _die. He'd always assumed that was some final act of mercy on Man in the Moon's part.

Well, if he was going down, he would ensure his pride remained until the end.

Bones thrust the sword down, and time seemed to slow for a moment; the tip was inches for his nose, when a stream of gold suddenly wrapped around Bones' wrists and yanked him back. With the pressure on his neck gone, Pitch swiftly got to his feet and readied his scythe for any attacks. Bones had been flung into a nearby tree, and Jack and Sandy landed beside Pitch while keeping their weapons aimed at the former Boogeyman.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Fine..." Pitch muttered, rubbing his neck with a slightly pained expression.

Bones climbed to his feet, and seemed a little surprised at seeing Jack.

"You?! How'd you get out?!"

_"Your secret underground dungeon isn't so secret anymore." _Sandy replied through his sand.

Bones glowered at the trio as he gripped his swords in hand. Jack raised an eyebrow at the sight of his altered skull.

"Uhh, what's with the monster make-up?"

"It's _supposed _to be his gimmick, though I don't see what's so scary about it." Pitch replied, examining his nails.

Bones growled, and lunged forward. The trio jumped out of the way, and Jack shot a blast of ice at him, freezing his foot to the ground. Sandy and Pitch attempted to close in, but a new wave of banshees blocked their way while Bones freed himself. He sent the banshees forward, and more joined in the brawl. Their numbers were countered by nightmares, and the two sand weilders made quick work of any that approached them. Jack however, was having a tougher time on his own. He was relieved when the familiar blurs of boomerangs suddenly struck two of the monsters in front of him.

"Need a hand?" Bunny asked, appearing out of a hoe beside him.

Jack smirked, before shooting more ice at the creatures.

"Where's North?"

"He and Piper are keepin the kids safe until we can get em back home."

"Alright then, I have a few complaints file about my visit. Care to help?"

"It would be my pleasure; CHARGE!"

He and Jack rushed into the oncoming horde, and ice and boomerangs flew along side golden whips and black waves of sand. Nightmares and banshees collided, and the brawl raged on. Bones meanwhile, had retreated to an overlooking hill, where the felled willow rested. His skull had returned to its plain white state as he watched the battle with narrowed eyes.

He had no leverage now, and he couldn't take on all of the Guardians and Pitch together, much as he hated to admit it. He'd have to flee for now.

"Another day, Black, another day..." he muttered, turning away.

He froze upon seeing Tooth and a group of her fairies hovering in front of him, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"Hi, remember me?" she asked, a faux sweet lilt in her voice.

:::::::::::

The three Guardians, Pitch, and the nightmares had managed to surround the banshees, and with their combined attacks, reduced them to a large pile of dust. Things were silent for a moment as they panted, before Pitch perked up and looked around.

"Where's Bones?" he asked.

The other spirits looked around for the former Boogeyman, but saw no sign of him. Then, a loud yelp caught their attention, and seconds later, Bones hit the ground before them. He let out a moan, lifting his skull slightly, before dropping it back to the ground. Tooth and her fairies approached them, shaking her hand a little, and looked up at the group.

"Sorry I'm late boys; his teeth are a _lot _harder to knock out."

Most of them laughed, but Pitch eyed her wearily as he moved back a little. Tooth shrugged, before her eyes fell on Jack.

"Jack, you're okay!" she exclaimed, flying over and trapping him in a hug. Baby Tooth landed on his head, squeaking happily, while the other minis hovered beside him, chirping excitedly.

"Um, yep, great...Tooth, ok Tooth I need air...!" Jack gasped as he attempted to move away.

"Oh, sorry! I was just so worried; well, we were _all _worried of course." Tooth said as she released him. Jack gulped down air while the rest of te present party shared a knowing look, before Pitch cleared his throat.

"If you're done with your sickening displays of affection; what do we do with the bonehead?"

"I...don't know. It's not like _we _can seal him away, none of us have that kind of power-" Tooth started.

She stopped when she noticed the fog had started fading. Bright light filtered through, and they all looked up at the source; the Moon. The rays of light fell on the unconscious Bloody Bones, and he stirred slightly. His eyes opened a little, but all he saw was blinding silver light.

_'No...NO NO NO, YOU CAN'T DO THIS, YOU CAN'T...DO...THiiiiss...'_

The light became too bright for the Guardians to handle, and they looked away while covering their eyes. As the light grew brighter still, for a moment, they all they heard a shout.

"NOOOOOooooo..."

It faded, as did the light, and they were able to see again. Bones was gone; in his place was a cracked skull, but it soon crumbled to dust, which was then blown away. Everyone was silent for a long while, until Pitch spoke up.

"I suppose that's that...well I'm leaving then."

He turned away, and started towards the gate that lead into the graveyard. The Guardians watched him for a moment, before slowly following.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Piper and the Guardians had returned to town, and gotten all the kids back to their rightful homes. Now, they were all on the roof that North had landed his sleigh, overlooking the city. Sandy had put all the children to sleep, and Piper had performed a special tune that would wipe these events from the minds of the children and the parents; it would be nothing but a bad dream to them.

"I'm...sorry. For everything..." Piper mumbled.

"Don't be sorry, Piper, it wasn't your fault." Tooth stated, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"She is right, and it was very brave of you to help us fight Bones." North added.

Piper glanced at tem, before looking up at Jack. The snow sprite nodded with a smile, and Piper slowly smiled himself.

"Thanks guys...so, I guess we don't have to worry about Bones anymore, then, huh?"

"Yeah, guess so...whatever Manny did, it got rid of Bones."

Piper nodded, before standing.

"Well, we all have jobs to get back to; I've got spirits to lead into the light, so I'll see you again sometime, right?"

The Guardians nodded, and Piper grinned, before playing a short tune on the flute. Seconds later, a large flock of white birds approached, and Piper jumped onto them.

"Bye!" he said with a wave, before playing a longer melody, and the flock lifted higher into the air. The song of the flute faded into the night as they flew into the distance, and the Guardians soon lost sight of him.

"Okie doke, so," Jack sighed, flopping into the seat of the sleigh, "Case closed, kids rescued, bad guy beaten; I'd say mission accomplished. Can we leave now?"

The other Guardians laughed, before they all climbed in; except for Pitch.

"Hey Pitch, you comin or what?" Jack asked.

"I've already suffered _one _ride in that thing; I'll happily take my nightmare, thank you." Pitch replied as he mounted his main nightmare.

"Aw come on, Pitch, give your pony a rest after tonight."

Pitch's eyes narrowed furiously.

"They are NOT ponies, they're- forget it, just forget it! I've had enough of you lot for one evening!" he hissed, massaging his forehead. The nightmare hissed at Jack, before taking to the air, and they vanished into the night. The Guardians glanced at each other with smirks, before North geared the reindeer into action, and they headed for the Pole.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**It's done, it's finally done! I've been writing and re-writing this chapter dozens of times!**

**Well, looks like Bloody Bones won't be making a comeback...I'm sure Manny didn't enjoy doing that...**

**So that's it for this arc, leave your reviews in the box below!**


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